1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to watercraft platforms on ships.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Vessels without protected well-deck areas experience functional and safety problems while conducting roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) and load-on/load-off (LO/LO) operations because of the instability of the ship-to-surface craft interface. Landing platforms alongside the sea-going vessel remain operationally limited for servicing ship-to-shore craft, especially during military operations. These platforms are subject to craft interface instabilities, limited docking area for the ship-to-shore craft, and limited flexibility of cargo placement within the platforms. Several designs are known for landing platforms, however, these designs generally remain limited for cargo replenishment and other operations of ship-to-surface craft.
There is a need in the art to provide landing platforms that minimize difficulties of host vessel to ship-to-shore craft interface instabilities, for air-cushion type vessels and craft, while retaining the capability of servicing multiple ship-to-shore craft at a given time. The present invention addresses this and other needs.